How Encroaching Infrastructure is Putting the Township of Langley’s Aquifers at Risk Kirah Corfe Grenfell Campus Memorial University of Newfoundland Abstract Although the Township of Langley (TOL) is located in a temperate rainforest, residents are finding their private wells going dry at an increasing rate. This paper investigates how a growing population and lack of water management has resulted in 5 of the TOL’s 18 unique aquifers being put at risk of going dry. Despite being aware of the TOL’s declining ground water levels, city planners continue to push for increased development without considering how this might affect future generations ability to access fresh water. Using GIS, this paper outlines the at-risk areas, while drawing from government and academic literature to determine what factors have enabled the continual over consumption of water within this township. As a result, a more aggressive water management strategy is needed to ensure the long term health of the TOL’s water table. Acronyms ALR Agriculture Land Reserves British Columbia BC GIS Geographic Information Systems LWS Living Water Smart TOL Township of Langley WMP Water Management Plan WSA BC Water Sustainability Act Introduction The Township of Langley (TOL) is a municipality in greater Vancouver that is experiencing a shift in land use, and as a result, a growing population. This change has resulted in significant drops in the water table despite being located in a temperate rainforest. The issues the TOL is facing are due mainly to overconsumption (Inter-Agency Planning Team, 2009). Once a mainly agricultural based community, the TOL continues to increase its development and making a shift to more urban and suburban infrastructure (Inter-Agency Planning Team, 2009). Some of the more notable contributing factors to this developmental shift is due to rising housing costs in Vancouver combined with obstacles in municipal regulations, a change in how the provincial government regulates Agricultural Land Reserves (ALR) and loopholes in the zoning bylaws. Despite these issues, municipal officials have had access to the data that outlines the TOL’s declining aquifer rates for more than 20 years (Inter-Agency Planning Team, 2009). Instead of utilizing previously recommended approaches, officials have decided to take a more passive approach when it comes to water management. This passive approach coupled with the continual urban development of areas that draw from at risk watersheds will result in several aquifers within the TOL going dry if the municipal government chooses to not enact the policies needed to protect these vital aspects of the ecosystem. This paper will explore how landownership, zoning, and water rights are affecting water consumption in the TOL, while also examining the current water management policies in place and commenting on why they are not as effective as they could be. Methods The TOL is a unique community that is experiencing a land use shift. As a community that relies heavily on an unseen water source, it is important to fully understand how this shift is affecting the communities’ multiple aquifers. The information identified throughout this paper collectively demonstrates the importance of reevaluating the TOL’s current water management plan and how land use/zoning in this municipality is aquifers at risk. Using a qualitative approach, this paper examined the following research questions: How has the change in ALR changed the way the TOL zones their land? Is the TOL purposely/ knowingly putting their aquifers at risk? What are realistic solutions to over consumption in Langley? What is limiting the current solutions? When analyzing the data two major themes emerged, land rights and how they are linked to water rights, and water management. This came from evaluating numerous academic journals, government documents, books and articles. The research was conducted using MUN library resources, Google Scholar, and reading online forums where The Township of Langley (TOL) community members could express how they feel about municipal changes. Keywords used in combination or alone included ‘aquifer’, ‘community-based management’, ‘private well management’, ‘municipally controlled water’, and ‘agricultural land reserves’. With an information base established, further analysis was about to ensue using a quantitative approach and GIS. Using the information provided by the BC provincial government and the TOL municipal government, an analysis was done to show areas of concern within this municipality. Using spatial data, this paper outlined areas that are being developed in correlation to aquifers that are experiencing significant reduction in water levels. The Global Context Despite being one of the most water rich countries in the world, Canada should not neglect the policies needed that acknowledge the importance of water conservation and water security. By protecting water, we are also protecting the ecosystem and quality of life for humans. The hydrological cycle is what enables life to flourish on earth. This cycle is powered by solar energy; it is the continual movement of water through land and the atmosphere through processes like evaporation and precipitation. In theory, the hydrological cycle should be renewable; however, in practice, this is not always the case (Harris & Roach, 2013). Solar energy powers the hydrological cycle; it circulates, purifies and distributes water around the world through evaporation and precipitation (Harris & Roach, 2013). Although the world has an abundance of salt water on earth, humans and many other creatures rely on fresh water sources to sustain life. Fresh water can be stored in plants, open bodies of surface water (ex. lakes, rivers and streams), and ground water (ex. aquifers) (Harris & Roach, 2013). Water on the earth’s surface is able to replenish through precipitation, on the other hand, ground water needs long-term infiltration to develop (Harris & Roach, 2013). This can be limited by over consumption, desertification caused by human built infrastructure, and climate change. Climate change paired with population growth have been having a profound effect on the hydrological cycle (Harris & Roach, 2013). Warmer temperatures caused by climate change have sped up the hydrological cycle (Harris & Roach, 2013). This has resulted in dry regions becoming drier and facing more instances of drought, and wet regions becoming more unstable as they are hit with more intense storms (Harris & Roach, 2013). In addition, as the global population grows, it is becoming increasingly challenging to meet the worlds basic water needs (Council of Canadian Academies, 2009). Water scarcity is a term used to define when a region is facing limitations to their “food production, economic development and protection of natural systems” (Harris & Roach, pp. 253, 2013) due to their inability to access water. This is when a region has access to less than 1,000 cubic meters of water person per year. These are mainly countries located in North Africa and the Middle East (Harris & Roach, 2013). Although Canada receives >684,000 cubic meters of water per person per year, this does not mean that water security should not also be a Canadian issue (Statcan, 2006). Water is a valuable resource that should not be overlooked. As other parts of the world become more water scares due to climate change, water is only going to gain value (Harris & Roach, 2013). Water can be used for many things, domestic & industrial uses, agriculture and energy. Currently, 70 percent of the world’s water usage goes to agricultural needs (Harris & Roach, 2013). Although within the upcoming years we can expect this number to drop due to irrigation efficiency, water demand is expected to increase due to domestic consumption, electricity and manufacturing needs (Harris & Roach, 2013). As of 2012, almost one-quarter of the global population lives in regions where ground water is being extracted at a faster rate than it can be replenished (Mascarelli, 2012). This over use can result in the decrease in overall water availability for current and future generations (Mascarelli, 2012). As ground water level drop, aquifers begin to pull from surface water, resulting in lakes, rivers and streams also becoming depleted (Mascarelli, 2012). This results in further ecological impacts when plants and animals no longer have access to the water they need (Mascarelli, 2012). Moreover, humans have the ability and knowledge to manage ground water sustainably; we simply must make the choice to do so (Mascarelli, 2012). The Issue within the Township of Langley (TOL) The TOL is the sixth largest municipality in greater Vancouver, and it is continually growing (Council of Canadian Academies, 2009). When looking at the TOL as a whole, it is by no means water scares. It lies within a coastal temperate rainforest zone that receives an annual average rainfall of 140cm (HelloBC, 2017). Over the past four decades, the Township of Langley (TOL) has experienced a significant increase in population. In 2008, the TOL’s population was approximately 100,000 residents and is forecasted to reach 165,000 by 2023 (Council of Canadian Academies, 2009). This growth is transforming the TOL into an urbanizing agricultural community (Council of Canadian Academies, 2009). Once mainly focused on developing their agricultural sector by encouraging diverse groups of farmers to cultivate the land, the TOL is making the shift to focusing on dense development and multifamily homes (Lions Gate